The training ground for beating the live casino games. Like you use a batting cage for learning how to hit baseballs the online poker arena is where you learn the correct strategy for playing your hands and opponents.
There is no substitute for learning how to play strategically sound poker if your goal is to make money from this game.
The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle
Yesterday I fired up some tables of $10NL games because I’m a sadist it is the nearest equivalent in terms of skill level to the £1-1, £1-£2, and £1-3 games that are commonly played in the casinos of the UK today.
Players have a general tendency to:
- Play too loose pre-flop
- Call too much post-flop
- Go on tilt
There are also far fewer strong players in these games so you will also fair much better against the competition.
$10NL on PokerStars with Hold’em Manager 2
If you are wondering why my poker client looks like a cockpit HUD from Flight Simulator ’97 its because I’m using Hold’em Manager 2 which tracks information on opponents in your game that you have played hands against. Stat-Tracking software comes in very handy when you want to multi-table as it means you can concentrate on the action but it is not necessary to be able to beat the live games just a useful tool we can use to obtain reads and tracks our sessions.
Hold’em Manager 2 Session Stats
These stats from that session are pretty accurate to how I usually play online and in live casino games 20/16/5 (VPIP/PFR/3bet).
If you can beat the Micro’s you have the fundamental skill needed to beat the live games but there are some subtle differences that can land you in trouble if you play them exactly the same way and that’s where I can help.
I have played millions of hands online since 2002 and when I started playing live casino games regularly in 2014 I couldn’t believe the gap in skill-level between the two for the amount of money at stake.
Timehop back to 2006
I made it my purpose to adapt the knowledge I had to beat the live poker scene.
JoeyCraigProTip: Ladies love a solid 3bet%, keep studying
Crush Cash Poker 
hi joey i like your blog i play very small stakes games like £1/£2 but I just can’t beat them because when I bet or raise my opponents call even when they’re supposed to especially when they call a big bet with complete garbage and its really frustrating should I move up to higher stakes where they respect my raises?
Good player losing to n00bs
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Hi Geoffrey aka ‘good player losing to n00bs’!! I’m glad you are enjoying the blog.
It can be very tempting to move up to where people ‘respect your raises’ and its an idea shared by lots of players who get frustrated playing against people who don’t know how to play poker well. The truth is you need to learn how to beat those kinds of players because they are the ones who you will be making the most profit playing against and they are prevalent throughout all the stakes so you will keep coming up against them. Make your big hands and value bet them hard, bluff much less, develop your patience and focus on your ABC game whilst plugging your leaks. There will be plenty of time to spread some jam on your turn sandwich bluffs later on.
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